The Private Collection

Saja 10 CD
Recorded 3/56-5/71

It blows your mind to think that this is the kind of stuff Ellington had in
the vaults when he died. The Private Collection consists mainly of studio
recordings Ellington produced at his own expense. The exceptions, volumes 2
and 6, are dance dates.

Why is this essential Ellington?

1. Two of Duke's best longer compositions are here and nowhere else. The
Degas Suite (the soundtrack to a movie about the painter) and The River (a
ballet) are both on volume 5. Aside from the excellence of the compositions,
Duke's piano on both of these is, quite simply, stunning.

2. Paul Gonsalves' best ballad work is on The Private Collection.
Paul treats us to "I Cover The Waterfront" on volume 7, plus two versions each
of "In A Sentimental Mood" (volumes 1 and 9) and "Moon Mist" (volumes 1 and
8).

3. There is much excellent Johnny Hodges. "When I'm Feeling Kinda Blue" on
volume 8 is Hodges at his bluest. Hodges ballads include "Prelude To A Kiss"
on volume 1, the lovely "Something Saxual" which includes a vocal group on
volume 7, and most especially "Sophisticated Lady" on volume 9.

4. There is a version of "Jump For Joy" on volume 1 which features the
clarinet of Jimmy Hamilton that captures that beautiful and uplifting melody
better than any other version.

5. There is also a wealth of Harold Ashby, Shorty Baker, Willie Cook, Ray
Nance, Clark Terry, and Cootie Williams.

You can't go wrong.

The Private Collection has also been released on CD on Unidisc, but the
Saja version is the one to have because the two tracks on volume 5 are indexed
so that you can get right to each individual movement of the two long works
(if your CD player has an indexing feature, that is). You can also buy the
volumes separately. If you don't want all 10 CDs, I think you can somehow get
by with only volumes 1, 5, 7, 8, and 9. But you know how lonely CDs can look
on a shelf when a set is incomplete.

Lastly, be aware that the tracks are misnumbered on volume 9. You can, of
course, find the correct numbers in the list below.